RIKK ECCENT

I like Rikk Eccent's music, which is funny, because his style of writing and recording are, usually, not the kind of Progressive Rock I hear.

But there was something on his first record, The Garden of Delights, that made me pay attention on his music and quite enjoy it. Upon receiving his second record (somewhere in 2016) I got excited, but life got in the way and I just couldn't focus in any reviews so his record was standing on my shelf for some (long) time, this week I finally gave it a few spins to be able to write something about it.

Kimmo Salmela, is the man behind the project, and deals with everything on the album: guitars, keyboard, programming, vocals, some drumming, etc. He also wrote, arranged, produced and engineered everything. Those who know a bit about music from Finland may recognize him, since he was involved with bands like JSS and Päät (in the 80's) and Poverty Stinks (in the 90's).

If his work in his first album, The Garden of Delights, was unique because of the blend of different styles, tying everything with his own sound, I believe he just made it stronger in OwlAWOL.

The album has a style that ties everything together, and it is, indeed, very Proggy, but at least for me, there's no other band to compare his work with. His way of mixing this kind of guitar driven music, Synth Pop, Prog Rock and loads of keyboards and programming make it sound pretty 'weird' from a Prog Rock perspective, but still absurdely enjoyable and interesting.

The opening 'Real' is a bit weak, and I admit I got a bit disappointed by it, but listening to it for a second time made me, I don't know, get used to it, I guess, weird actually. Then 'I Feel Free' comes in and it a won game, Rikk got it! And his version of David Essex's 'Rock On (here named 'Prog On', of course) is just spot on!

If there was any doubt about the album by its half all doubts would go away with the amazing 'Fare Well' and 'Higher Ground'. 'Loser's Game' is a bit 'slow', what I mean is that it takes a few spins for you to actually enjoy it. But I have to say that the closer track ' Tomorrow Is Slow to Come' is for me very uninspired, and for me it shouldn't be the one closing the album.

At the end of the day I believe OwlAWOL is better than Rikk's first album and I believe there's enough depth in the album for you to listen to it again and again, I know I will!

The Finnish rock musician Kimmo Salmela alias RIKK ECCENT has made his second album, three years since the debut The Garden of Delights. Personally I wasn't deeply impressed by it, and it's more or less the same with this one, but I think the production is more pleasant now. More flowing and organic, like the artist himself says in the promotional interview. The album title looks confusing; notice the capital letters AWOL, which is an abbreviation for "absence without leaving". Salmela explains the theme: "It's about the classic story of madness and sanity and the wavering line between them." The lyrics don't become very central in my listening, so I don't deal with them.

Again Salmela must be thanked for crafting a full-bred and balanced sound all by himself in the studio (except for additional drums that are credited to Rikk Cent, whoever he is). The electric guitar dominates in a rather ballsy, Jeff Beck -like manner, while the overall sound is perhaps few degrees warmer and less metallic than on the debut. The feature I'm the least fond of is the voice that sounds stuffy and hoarse. Think of Ray Wilson (of late-90's Genesis) who's caught a cold. This, however, is a pure matter of taste: someone else may think he's a wonderful, distinctive rock vocalist.

At least early on the album the music is for me too close to the wide grey area of 'street-credible', slightly depressed, guitar-oriented, non-progressive rock (from the nineties onwards) that just leaves me cold personally. By the way, 'Prog On' is a cover of 'Rock On' by David Essex. 'Fare Well' is a pretty cool song in its restrained, dark emotion and tonal spaceyness. The guitar solo in the middle is powerful. On 'Higher Ground', another slightly creepy and effectively dynamic song, Sanna Emilia adds her wordless backing vocals. Gradually the prog/art-rock flavour becomes more evident, even if the music never gets self-indulgently complex. The final track 'Tomorrow Is Slow to Come' is my favourite. All in all, I believe this well-produced album gets better on repeated listenings. Solid three stars for good musicianship (guitars especially) and for three powerful songs above the average.

RIKK ECCENT is a Finnish one-man project: Kimmo Salmela sings & plays everything, and he has written and produced this album himself. But you couldn't guess from the meaty, dynamic music that there's no whole band behind it. Therefore a certain respect is earned right away, even if the music is not exactly up to my own taste.

Prog Shine has written a very good first review here, and I would have it very hard to bring anything new. I won't go into track-by-track details. (Anyway, my reception is less enthusiastic. Or will it get warmer little by little as his did? Well, I have a big trust on first impressions so I doubt it.) First off, I'm not fond of Salmela's voice. it's a bit blurred and stuffy, a worse version of Elvis Costello. And in the music the central electric guitar often has Metallic edginess. These are the things I do't like. Otherwise I can admit this is very effective and strong rock that has a credible balance between commercial pop/ hard rock approach and more demanding prog elements. A bit of Prog Metal and and a bit of Neo Prog. With a better singer, less emphasis on guitars and a bit brighter overall atmosphere this would be great for me too. The long closing track 'Nexus' is the calmest - and clearly the best.

Fine fold-out digipak design; inside there's a praying mantis and a hybrid of planet Earth and a fly's eye, on the back cover fireworks against black sky.

Rikk Eccent is a new name in the music world. I have been completely unaware of it. In fact, it is pretty complicated to find it anywhere in the web. Rikk Eccent is a project of musician, songwriter and producer Kimmo Salmela. His first album is called The Garden Of Delights (2013) and it was released in March 2013 by the, also Finnish, label Running Moose.

Kimmo Salmela, the man behind the band, deals with everything on the album: guitars, keyboard and programming. He also wrote, arranged, produced and engineered everything. Those who know a bit about music from Finland will recognize him, since his skills helped to define the sound of bands as diverse as Poverty Stinks, Päät and JSS. In fact, the work with the variety of bands makes the sound in The Garden Of Delights (2013) quite unique in style and in genre. The album has a style, but at least for me, there's nothing really to compare it with. The mixing of guitar driven music, Synth Pop, Prog Rock and loads of keyboards and programming make it sound pretty 'weird' in comparison to any other band right now.

I must say that the work in The Garden Of Delights (2013) didn't appeal to me at all during the first listening. I really find it hard to appreciate music with too much programming, especially in the rhythm sections. But, I was kinda caught when the first track, 'The Garden Of Delights (Intro)', began. I'll do something which I usually don't do in my reviews and quote the lyrics here:

"Maximise your market value today nevermind the product and you'll be ok", they say Beautiful packages we're delivered each day But where's the soul, brother?"

If you follow my reviews, you know that these words match with my thoughts concerning the modern music, including prog rock because that's all you get nowadays. Hype and pretty packages with no soul. I know that Kimmo wasn't really talking about music. But it fits like a glove.

Following it we have 'The Road To Oblivion', that reminded me a bit of Riverside in the beginning. Possibly my favorite track on the album. Then he goes forward with 'Freefallin'' and I must say that this most straight Rock he does on this first two tracks is very interesting.

His music can be considered experimental, like in 'Lone Kid Wolf', but it is far away from being non sense experimental music with no goals. Soon after that, in 'Money Pie' you get some kind of acoustic guitar blues that soon changes to some space driven music. Lyrics are quite interesting too, I must say.

'It Will All Make Senses In The End' reminded me of the 80's bands. Some of the so called Synth Pop were brave enough to change their sound towards the end of that decade and create some interesting works. This song makes me think about that. Lots of 'musical noises' for the ones that like to be musical detectives here. 'Hard Work' follows the same path, full of programing drums and guitar riffs. If not for the great guitars in it, the track would be a bit faded.

'Nexus' finishes The Garden Of Delights (2013) as the longest track on the album, with a bit more than eight and a half minutes. It is also the most atmospheric of all the tracks. Hypnotic drumming, programming and some great special guitars. There's a solo, around the middle of the track, quite daring, I cannot say if it's a guitar synth or the synth itself! I liked the bits with people noises, like steps and conversations far away.

In general, The Garden Of Delights (2013) is a complete puzzle for ears. It's quite hard to put Rikk Eccent in any category. Is it Prog? Isn't it? I would say yes! But what really matters, is that the final product here is quite good. Kimmo Salmela managed to put all these different musical styles and influences within the same album, added some great guitars, some very good lyrics and there you have it!

The Garden Of Delights (2013) deserves a good listening.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)